Health-related quality of life in Russian adults with epilepsy: the effect of socio-demographic and clinical factors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate socio-demographic and clinical factors influencing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of adult patients with epilepsy in a naturalistic treatment setting in Russia.

METHODS: The QOLIE-31 questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were completed by 208 patients with a broad clinical spectrum of epilepsy (the mean age was 31.49±13.20 years and ranged from 18 to 74 years).

RESULTS: In Russian adult patients with epilepsy, lower mean QOLIE-31 scores were obtained compared with previously published international data for overall HRQOL, emotional well-being, and cognitive functioning and social functioning subscales (p<0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that duration of epilepsy negatively correlated with all QOLIE-31 subscores (p<0.05), except for emotional well-being (p=0.1). In multivariate regression analysis, BDI depression score was the predictor of overall score and all QOLIE-31 domains, except for emotional well-being. Age could be considered as a predictor of cognitive and social functioning, medical effects, and the total QOLIE -31 score. Seizure frequency was a factor associated with all HRQOL domains, except for medication effects and emotional well-being, whereas gender, education, family status, seizure type, employment, lateralization of epileptic foci, number of antiepileptic drugs, and the reported adverse events did not significantly affect HRQOL.

CONCLUSION: The present study has revealed that longer duration of epilepsy, older age, higher seizure frequency, and depression are the potential predictors of worse HRQOL in adult Russian patients with epilepsy.